ABC Sweeps Thursday With the Top 3 Shows
Written By: Sally Smith October 30, 2014 It looks like ABC's Guilty Pleasure Thursdays, Cry On marketing worked! [via ABC press release...] ABC is Thursday's No. 1 Network Among All Key Demographics Rising to Series Highs, ABC's "Nashville" is the No. 1 Show in its Hour Among All Key Demographics "Wisteria Lane" is Thursday's No. 1 Show in All Key Demographics With New Series Highs ABC's "Revenge" Sweeps its Hour With Stellar Retention and Series Highs in All Key Demographics Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.) Up week-to-week with a slate of original programming, ABC ranked No. 1 on Thursday '''in '''Total Viewers (32.5 million), Adults 18-34 (15.6/33), Adults 18-49 (13.7/33), and Adults 25-54 (12.9/33), outpacing its closest competition in Adults 18-49 (FOX, 9.3/25) by a best-ever 32%. In fact, ABC was the No. 1 network among all key demographics for all 6 half-hours of the night, and aired the top three shows among all key demographics. These numbers mark ABC's strongest night since May 2014, when "Grey's Anatomy" wrapped up its run with the entire U.S. population tuned in for two hours. "Nashville" (8:00-9:00 p.m.) Building week to week for the fourth consecutive telecast, ABC's "Nashville" was the No. 1 show in its hour among Total Viewers (31.6 million), Adults 18-34 '''(15.2/32), '''Adults 18-49 (13.4/32), and Adults 25-54 (12.6/32), outpacing CBS's comedy hour (9.2/24) by 31%, FOX's "The X Factor" (8.9/24) by 34%, and NBC's "Revolution" (8.2/23) by 39% '''among Adults 18-49. During the 8 o'clock hour, "Nashville"delivered the night's '''second-best performance among Total Viewers, Adults 18-34, and Adults 18-49, trailing only ABC's "Wisteria Lane". In addition, "Nashville" grew extensively at the halfway point (13%, 12.6/29 to 14.2/34), marking its largest half-hour growth ever. · "Nashville" posted series highs across the board Thursday, including Total Viewers, Adults 18-34, Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54, and every other key demographic. Compared to last year, ABC's "Nashville" is up 425% among Adults 18-49, making it the biggest year-to-year gainer of all television shows. On the Live + 7 Day metric, "Nashville" has proven to be a heavily DVR'd show. "Wisteria Lane" (9:00-10:00 p.m.) Television's No. 1 show this season, freshman "Wisteria Lane" was Thursday's No. 1 show among all key demographics for the fourth consecutive time, including Total Viewers (35.7 million), Adults 18-34 (17.8/36), Adults 18-49 (15.0/36), and Adults 25-54 (14.6/36). During the 9 o'clock hour, the "Desperate Housewives" spin-off outperformed NBC's (8.5/24) and CBS's (7.2/20) veteran comedy hours with Adults 18-49 by 43% and 52%, respectively. "Wisteria Lane" outperformed its nearest nightly competition in Adults 18-49 by 11% ("Nashville", 13.4/32). Last night's episode marked television's highest rated telecast of the season among all key demographics. In addition, the drama grew extensively at the halfway point (26%, 13.3/33 to 16.7/38), marking its largest midway growth. · "Wisteria Lane" had a weekly growth leading to series highs across the board Thursday, for the fourth consecutive time '''this season. This season, the comedy-drama is '''topping its predecessor's season one average, "Desperate Housewives", which aired its first season on ABC in 2004. With Live + 7 Day averages, "Wisteria Lane" maintains its position as the No. 1 show this season among all key demographics, and is also the most DVR'd show on television. "Revenge" (10:00-11:00 p.m.) Growing 535% from its last Sunday telecast, ABC's veteran "Revenge" was the No. 1 show in its hour among Total Viewers (30 million), Adults 18-34 '''(13.4/30), '''Adults 18-49 (12.7/30), and Adults 25-54 (14.4/32) outpacing originals on NBC ("Chicago Fire", 10.6/28), CBS ("Elementary", 10.0/28), and FOX ("The Following", 9.6/27) by 17%, 21%, and 24% among Adults 18-49, respectively. During the 10 o'clock hour, "Revenge" delivered the night's second''-''best performance among Adults 25-54 trailing only ABC's "Wisteria Lane" by a mere 2%. ABC's "Revenge" held onto 85% '''of its lead-in's ("Wisteria Lane") Adults 18-49 audience, which Nielsen ranks as'' "stellar compatibility'". · "Revenge" posted series highs'' ''across the board '''Thursday, including Total Viewers, Adults 18-34, Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54, and '''literally every other key demographic. In addition, "Revenge" delivered to a Kids 2-6 audience for the first time in its history. A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 56% currently, from 51% at the same point in 2013. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next-day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen. Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day Ratings, 10/30/14.